2019-01.pdf

(33271 KB) Pobierz
Tornado
tales
Stories from
the cockpit
Iberian
Hornets
More sting for
Spanish fighters
Officially the world’s number one authority on military aviation
Dragon
ascendant
Chinese fighter
capabilities
revealed
A battle
for the
Atlantic?
UK air power challenged
January 2019 Issue 370 www.airforcesmonthly.com
£4.99
FORCE
REPORT
Exercise Clear Sky
Flankers
versus F-15s
Counter-insurgency specialists
Colombian Army Avia
tion
Italy’s high-tech trainer
Flying the T-346A with 61° Stormo
Royal Air Force Annual Review 2019
The Official RAF Annual Review 2019
has been
produced by Key Publishing with exclusive access
to the Royal Air Force, and featuring articles
written with and by RAF personnel. This 132-page
special magazine provides behind the scenes
insight into the aircraft, equipment, people and
operations of one of the world’s premier air forces,
in its centenary year.
FEATURING
A Momentous Event
The largest and most spectacular part of the RAF100
celebrations – a mass flypast over Buckingham Palace – took
place in July. Review looks back on a day the RAF went to
town, with exclusive behind-the-scenes access.
Watching the World… 51 Squadron and Rivet Joint
Gathering signals intelligence is 51 Squadron’s mission.
The unit, based at RAF Waddington, working in close
co-operation with its US Rivet Joint colleagues.
Tornado - Fighting to the End
We take a detailed look at the mighty Tornado ground attack
aircraft’s last operational duties as it approaches the end of its
front line service.
Welcome to the F-35 Lightning
In 2018, RAF Marham became home to F-35B Lightnings
operated by 617 (Dambusters) Squadron. Review was given
exclusive access to this special unit, and incredible aircraft.
and much more!
1068/18
ORDER DIRECT
PLUS FREE P&P
*
Free P&P
*
when you order online
at www.keypublishing.com/shop
*Free 2nd class P&P on all
UK & BFPO orders. Overseas
charges apply.
Call UK: 01780 480404
Overseas: +44 1780 480404
Monday to Friday 9am-5:30pm
GMT
SU B S CRIBE RS C A LL F O R YO UR £1.00 DIS COUNT! S UBS CRIB ER S C A LL FOR YOUR £1.00 DI SCOUN T!
Comment
‘Red Flag
lite’
over the
North Sea
Above:
A 48th FW F-15E Strike Eagle and RAF
F-35B Lightning fly over the North Sea as an Armée
de l’Air Rafale C breaks away.
Crown Copyright
he recent Exercise Point Blank 18-3
– taking place from RAF Lakenheath,
Suffolk – included the first involvement
of the RAF’s F-35B in a war game of this kind.
The November 27 event involved upwards of
40 aircraft, including United States Air Forces in
Europe (USAFE) F-15Es from Lakenheath, RAF
Typhoons from RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire,
and French Air Force Rafales (see also
Headlines,
p6-7). While the 48th Fighter Wing
has run the Point Blank series since 2016, this
latest chance for the all-important integration
of fourth- and fifth-generation assets has
helped raise its profile. Indeed, it’s now being
billed as a low-cost alternative to the Red Flag
exercises that take place in Nevada and Alaska.
As well as providing a chance to strengthen
the trilateral partnership between the air
arms of the US, UK and France, Point Blank
addresses a very real need identified within the
US Air Force’s combat force. The exercise’s
strategic plan notes that a combination
of non-stop operational deployments and
budget constraints “have eroded readiness,
capacity and capability for a full-spectrum
Editor:
Thomas Newdick
Assistant Editor:
Jamie Hunter
World Air Forces Correspondent:
Alan Warnes
Editorial Contact:
edafm@keypublishing.com
Attrition:
Dave Allport
Chief Designer:
Steve Donovan
Assistant Chief Designer:
Lee Howson
Production Editor:
Sue Blunt
Deputy Production Editor:
Carol Randall
Sub Editors:
Norman Wells, Sue Campbell
Advertising Manager:
Ian Maxwell
Production Manager:
Janet Watkins
Group Marketing Manager:
Martin Steele
Mail Order & Subscriptions:
Liz Ward
Commercial Director:
Ann Saundry
Group CEO & Publisher:
Adrian Cox
Copies of
AirForces Monthly
can be obtained each month
by placing a standing order with your newsagent. In case of
difficulty, contact our Circulation Manager. Readers in USA
may place subscriptions by telephone toll-free 800-428-3003
or by writing to
AirForces Monthly,
3300 Pacific Ave, Ste 500,
Virginia Beach, VA23451-2983. We are unable to guarantee
the bonafides of any of our advertisers. Readers are strongly
recommended to take their own precautions before parting
T
fight”. The result is that, as of 2016, less than
50% of the USAF’s frontline fleet was ready
to respond against a near-peer adversary.
And it’s the high-end, near-peer threat that is
very much in commanders’ minds right now.
As airmen gathered at Lakenheath, Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko was warning
Russia that tensions could lead to “full-scale
war” with Moscow. The president’s words
came in response to a build-up of Russian
troops on Ukraine’s border and the detention
of Ukrainian Navy vessels in the Kerch Strait.
Air Cdre Jez Attridge, RAF Joint Force Air
Component commander, told reporters at
Lakenheath: “We can see the environment
is changing, we can see the challenge that
Russia is giving to the international rules-
based order, so we are the insurance
policy. We are recognising that through the
scenario that we’ve got, the non-permissive
environment, and our ability to operate with
our allies, the French and the Americans, is
paramount.” He continued: “It really is a case
of us staying ready so that we can be used if
we’re needed. It’s a great insurance policy.”
with any information or item of value, including, but not limited
to, money, manuscripts, photographs or personal information
in response to any advertisements within this publication.
Postmaster:
Send address corrections to
AirForces
Monthly,
Key Publishing Ltd, C/O 3390 Rand Road, South
Plainfield NJ 07080. Printed in England by Warners
(Midlands) plc, Bourne, Lincolnshire.
AirForces Monthly
(ISSN 0955 7091) is published monthly by Key Publishing Ltd
and distributed in the USA by UKP Worldwide, 3390 Rand
Road, South Plainfield, NJ 07080. Periodicals postage paid
at South Plainfield, NJ. The entire contents of
AirForces
Monthly
is a copyright of Key Publishing Ltd and cannot be
reproduced in any form without permission.
Submissions:
The Editor is happy to receive contributions
to
AirForces Monthly.
Please note that all material sent to
the Editor is forwarded at the contributor’s own risk. While
every care is taken with material, the publishers cannot
be held responsible for any loss or damage incurred. All
material rates available on request. Submitted material
(especially illustrations) should have the contributor’s name
and address clearly marked and a stamped addressed
envelope should be enclosed if it is required to be returned.
All items submitted for publication are subject to our terms
and conditions, which are regularly updated without prior
notice and are freely available from Key Publishing Ltd or
With the cost of sending a UK-based F-15E
to Nellis AFB for Red Flag around $4m,
Point Blank provides a much cheaper option
that’s on USAFE’s doorstep. Beginning
as a grass-roots officers’ initiative, Point
Blank quickly won enthusiastic support.
Since 2016 there have been more than
20 exercises and in excess of 400 aircraft
have taken part – including fifth-generation
USAF F-22A and F-35A jets returning from
deployments in the Middle East or visiting
Europe as Theater Security Packages. Just as
importantly, there’s now a regular exchange
between the USAF and its European allies.
In a world in which security and defence
budgets are increasingly uncertain,
there’s clearly a place for innovative
exercises such as Point Blank.
Thomas Newdick
Email at:
edafm@keypublishing.com
downloadable from www.keypublishing.com. All digital
imagery should be at least 300dpi and 10 x 8 inches
(25.4cm x 20.3cm) in size. Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100,
Stamford, Lincs., PE9 1XQ, UK.
Tel:
+44 (0)1780 755131
Fax:
+44 (0)1780 757261
Subscription:
subs@keypublishing.com
Website:
www.keypublishing.com
Distributed by Seymour Distribution Ltd, 2 Poultry Avenue,
London, EC1A 9PP. combined print and digital average sale
ISSN 0955 7091. The
Tel:
the period 7429 4000
Fax:
was 15,954 copies monthly.
for +44 (0)20 Jan-Dec 2017 +44 (0)20 7429 4001
To nd a stockist near you,
visit www.airforcesmonthly.com
Next Issue
On sale from January 17
You can sign up for our free email newsletter by
going to www.airforcesmonthly.com
#370 JANUARY 2019
//
3
www.airforcesmonthly.com
Contents
January 2019 #370
GIVE THE GIFT
THAT LASTS
ALL YEAR!
Regular features
30
INTEL REPORT:
Showtime in Zhuhai
Alan Warnes was at the Zhuhai Airshow
where China’s advanced fighters were the
main attraction alongside a burgeoning
family of unmanned aerial vehicles.
4th Air Combat Brigade organised the
large-scale Baccarat exercise in the
country’s northeast Champagne-Ardenne
region. Oliver Jonischkeit was there.
36
EXERCISE REPORT:
Clear Sky 2018
A subscription to
74
FORCE REPORT:
Colombian Army Aviation
By hosting an ambitious air exercise with
participants from different NATO countries,
the Ukrainian Air Force proved it has made
giant steps towards adopting the Western
doctrine of operations. Gert Kromhout reports.
Colombian Army Aviation is the most
powerful force of its type in Latin
America, with a huge inventory of
helicopters and a small but growing
fixed-wing fleet. Having seen combat
since its creation, it’s also extremely
experienced, as Santiago Rivas reveals.
makes a great gift this Christmas.
See pages 20 and 21 for details.
66
EXERCISE REPORT:
Baccarat 2018
For the second year, the French Army’s
80
EXERCISE REPORT:
Mare Aperto 2018-2
Riccardo Niccoli watched examples of most
4 //
JANUARY 2019 #370
www.airforcesmonthly.com
News by region
All the world’s military aviation news,
by region
6-7
.................Headlines
8-9
.................United Kingdom
10-13
.............Continental Europe
16-19
.............North America
22-23
.............Middle East
24
..................Latin America
25
..................Russia & CIS
26-27
.............Asia Pacific
28
..................Africa
29
..................Australasia
Features
3
Comment
AFM’s
opinion on the hot topics in
military aviation.
14
Postcard from Mali
AFM
contributor Benoît Denet shares
his photographs from Mali where the
Belgian Air Component completed a four-
month deployment last summer.
Cover:
A J-20A of the People’s Liberation Army
Air Force’s 172nd Brigade Flight Test and
Training Base is put through its paces over
Zhuhai. As well as a polished aerial display, the
fifth-generation fighter provided a first clear view
of its air-to-air weapons capability. As the show
drew to its close, a J-20A flew with its weapons
bays open to reveal a standard missile load-
out of four PL-15 long-range AAMs in the two
main bays and a pair of PL-10s in the side bays.
See p30 for a full Intel Report on the Zhuhai
Airshow, while Headlines provides analysis of the
J-20A’s weapons.
Katsuhiko Tokunaga
Main image:
In the second part of its review of current Su-
25 operators AFM looks at the ‘Frogfoot’ fleets
of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia and
Kazakhstan. Georgia played a key role in the
Su-25 story during the Soviet era, all the single-
seaters – 582 Su-25s, 50 slightly improved Su-
25BMs and 182 Su-25Ks for export customers
– were built at the TAM plant in Tbilisi. Georgian
Armed Forces’ two-seat Su-25U ‘21 Blue’ was
produced through conversion of a single-seat
Su-25T anti-tank airframe.
Marcus Fülber
42
Changing times for the
French Air Force
The Armée de l’Air officially introduced
the PC-21 and A330 MRTT into service
less than three weeks apart. Henri-
Pierre Grolleau reports on the end of a
significant year for the French Air Force.
48
Spanish stingers
Spain’s Ejército del Aire operates a well-
balanced fighter force of EF-18M/F/A-18A+
Hornets and Eurofighter Typhoons. Salvador
Mafé Huertas assesses the Spanish Hornet
fleet, active within three frontline wings.
54
A new Battle of the
Atlantic?
of the Italian Navy’s aircraft in action at Mare
Aperto 2018-2 – its largest training exercise
– conducted in the waters west of Sardinia.
88
Attrition
84
COMMANDER’S
UPDATE BRIEFING:
Combined air operations
centres
Dave Allport details the world’s most
recent military accidents including
the investigation into the US Air Force
HH-60G loss in Iraq last March.
Next year the Royal Air Force hopes to take
delivery of its first Boeing P-8A Poseidon
maritime patrol aircraft, ending a nine-
year capability gap in this vital arena of
warfare. Tim Ripley looks at some of
the challenges the crews will face.
60
Italy’s high-tech trainers
If an air campaign could be described as a
symphony of activity, then the combined air
operations centre is the conductor – keeping
time and synchronising every element. Air
Power Association President Air Marshal
(ret’d) Greg Bagwell CB CBE investigates.
92
SURVEY: Su-25
Operators – Former
Soviet states
Part
2
The Italian Air Force’s 61° Stormo at Lecce-
Galatina has introduced a new training
system based on the M-346 Master. Gian
Carlo Vecchi investigates one of Europe’s
most advanced military flying schools.
87
Book reviews
After assessing the current status of
the Su-25 in Russian service, Alexander
Mladenov turns his attention to the
Frogfoot
operators among the other former Soviet
states, beginning with Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan.
68
Tornado tales
A career in the cockpit
AFM
evaluates some of the latest
offerings in aviation literature.
98
Coming up
See what’s featuring in your
AFM
next month.
AFM
begins a series of features celebrating
the career of the ever-popular Tornado
GR as it nears the end of its RAF service.
First up, Jamie Hunter meets Flt Lt (ret’d)
Bill Read, who talks about his time at
the front end of the ‘Mighty Fin’.
www.airforcesmonthly.com
#370 JANUARY 2019
//
5

Plik z chomika:

Inne pliki z tego folderu:

Inne foldery tego chomika:

Zgłoś jeśli naruszono regulamin